reviews of Indian restaurants in the Westchester and New York area (mostly), and writings on travel and food.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Earthquake at the Union Station, Washington DC--lunch at Aditi Indian Kitchen

I have reviewed Aditi Indian Kitchen at Union Station before, and praised its no nonsense honest fare. Today, I arrived into Union Station on the metro with a few spare minutes for a quick lunch before catching the 2 pm Acela Express. Loathing the idea of a grab and go sandwich, I decided to give Aditi a shot. So at 1:33; sped down the circular wooden staircase at the center of the station that arcs down to the basement. At 1:34; after waiting behind one customer, placed my order of chicken biryani, goat curry and an alu(potato) bonda to the efficient guy manning the counter. At 1:36 paid for my food, and begun my lunch—the chicken curry was reliable, the goat meat tender and beyond what I had expected (some places can skimp on the quality of the meat leaving you with bony, chewy pieces), the curry a touch too spicy. But mixed together, the biryani and goat made for a great, quick lunch. The bonda was a couple of hours past its prime. At 1:43 I was done, headed to gate F and in a few minutes seated and wi-fi’ed on the train. At around 1:55 or so, the earthquake hits, I think it is one of those cases where the bogeys jump around a bit when a new engine is attached to the train. Except that it went on for a few tens of seconds. At 1:58 a fellow passenger lets us know that someone just texted him about an earthquake. A bit later I learn that it is a 5.9 earthquake. Probably not large enough to seriously shake up a place like DC. A nice lunch. And a brief rumble.